Four in five doctors admit that they have prescribed pointless treatments, citing a desire to get pushy patients off their backs as the main reason. Doctors confess to handing out antibiotics and ordering x-rays, tests and scans that patients did not need, in a poll that medical leaders say

Soon we might not be talking about prostate cancer at all. Advances in our understanding of genetics means we are moving towards a world where it is the genetic profile of a tumour, rather than where in the body it happens to occur, that is seen as important. In ten years, a man who today is given

Thousands of men with prostate cancer could be treated with drugs developed for other tumours, according to an “incredibly exciting” study that reshapes understanding of the disease. Nine in ten men with advanced cancer have genetic mutations that could be targeted with drugs designed to treat

Temporary staffing agencies are “ripping off” hospitals as the bill for stand-in doctors and nurses soars, the leader of the NHS says. Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said he was considering caps on what agencies could charge after hospitals spent more than £1 billion on agency

GPs will today attack the prime minister’s “surreal obsession” with weekend appointments, warning that care is already so rushed that they will have to stop offering some types of treatment. Family doctors should stop offering sick notes, re-referrals to hospital, test results and care for minor

Cancer patients are being put at risk by the failure of the NHS to meet waiting time targets, charities said as performance fell to a record low. Only 82.3 per cent of patients started treatment within two months of a GP referral, the lowest proportion since the target was introduced six years

Children who are bullied are more likely to become obese in middle age, according to research which suggests that better care in the schoolyard could pay dividends for decades. One in eight cases of obesity could be prevented if bullying were eliminated, scientists estimate. Louise Arseneault of

GPs spend a fifth of their time dealing with patients’ social problems and rising numbers of appointments are devoted to dealing with relationship and work difficulties, a survey has said. Consultations equivalent to the time of 3,750 GPs a year are devoted to helping patients with non-medical

Couch-potato Britain is “normalising obesity”, the leader of the NHS said yesterday, as he warned that the health service would need even more funding if the nation does not get a grip on its weight problem. Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, hinted that regulation would be needed

Diane Morley experienced a bad storm during an eight-day cruise to Norway in 2012 and has still not recovered from her seasickness. She has now been given a diagnosis of the rare mal de debarquement syndrome, for which there is no cure. “It’s just awful, I still feel like I’m out in the ocean